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Auburn football — Back where it all began: Mason’s return to New York brings back memories

NEW YORK – The blue and white sign hanging in the lobby of Deauville Gardens Elementary School is in all caps.

THE ROAD TO COLLEGE BEGINS HERE.

The halls of the school in Copiague, Long Island are where Auburn running back Tre Mason spent his early days.

“A lot of memories,” Mason said while looking at a picture of the school on Friday, recalling his second and third grade teachers by name.

Though his family moved to Palm Beach, Fla. when he was 10 years old, Mason’s journey to becoming one of the top players in college football started in suburban New York, just 40 miles from the Best Buy Theatre in Times Square where he and five other finalists will sit tonight as they take part in the ceremonies for the 79th Heisman Trophy.

The Masons lived in Amityville, where his mother, Tina, is from before moving to 77 Stone Boulevard in neighboring Massapequa.

“That was the beginning of things,” Mason said, “when we first started taking off.”

The early years were not easy for the Masons.

Tre’s father, Vincent, spent much of his early life on welfare. He would eventually find his calling as DJ Masseo in the rap group “De La Soul,” but a young Tre needed to stay with his godmother at times.

“It really came from modest beginnings,” said Tina Mason, Tre’s mother. “We really kind of struggled along the way until we made our way.”

Vincent made his music in the family’s home on the south shore of Long Island while Tre and his siblings were their own handful. Mason said he’d tell old neighbors he was sorry “for all the noise I made, I know I was loud.”

Start of a football life

Mason’s football career didn’t begin until his sophomore year of high school at Park Vista (Palm Beach, Fla.) High School. His record-breaking MVP performance of 304 yards and four touchdowns on 46 carries against Missouri in last week’s SEC Championship Game was second only to a 312-yard outing his senior season of high school.

“He ran a couple of draws; one was like an 87-yard touchdown,” said Park Vista coach Brian Dodds.

Mason finished his senior season with 1,643 yards and 24 touchdowns, nearly identical to his 1,621 yards and 22 rushing scores so far this for No. 2 Auburn (12-1).

“For me it’s unbelievable,” Dodds said. “Things have to work in your favor to get it done, and Tre’s worked extremely hard in his life and his career, and he’s being rewarded for it. … It’s kind of unreal in many respects.”

Fit for the offense

When he arrived at Auburn in the fall of 2011, the 5-foot-10, 190-pound Mason was eager to play in then-offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn’s offense.

When Malzahn left to coach Arkansas State in 2012, Mason was the lone bright spot in one of the worst seasons in program history. On a woeful offense, he still managed 1,002 yards while begging for the ball.

“Of course we recruited him, and he was extremely fast coming out of high school,” Malzahn said. “He wasn’t as big and as strong as he is now. When he was a freshman you knew he had a chance, he was a tough guy, didn’t talk much, just did his job. Then of course last year, he had 1,000 yards, even though it was a tough year for him.

“This year, he’s really established himself as really our go-to guy. And the unique thing about it is, most people know he’s getting it, and he’s run and earned some very tough yards. After that first contact, he breaks most of the first contact, and he’s a tough guy.”

Mason added more weight to his frame this season, tipping the scales at 205 pounds, and his durability is no longer remotely in question. Auburn leads the country in rushing (335.7 yards per game) due in large part to Mason becoming a sledgehammer.

“He’s stronger. He’s a tough guy,” Malzahn said. “I can’t say that enough how tough, physically and mentally tough, he is. He doesn’t back down from anybody or any moment.”

Full cycle

Mason’s journey will continue as the Tigers play No. 1 Florida State for the BCS title on Jan. 6 in Pasadena, Calif. But before he gets there, Mason is back to where it all began.

“To be back in New York it makes things to me feel a little bit more full cycle,” Tina Mason said. “Moving from Long Island and moving out to Florida and him really starting his football career in Florida, and then to bring him back home with the Heisman, the highest trophy you can be nominated for, in New York, is full cycle. … Not in my wildest dreams would I imagine we’d be here today.”

Deauville Gardens principals Michael Kelly and Joseph Buccello can, and may, hang other sign in the lobby: THE ROAD TO A HEISMAN CANDIDACY BEGAN HERE.